To New Beginnings
by sylfai64
Summary: My own version of what could have happened with Calleigh Duquesne and her kids and her relationship with Eric Delko. The story takes place where the series finale left off. I made changes to Ch. 1 to be consistent with Ch. 2
1. Chapter 1

**(Author's Note: First of all I just want to thank CSI Miami for giving us two lovely characters- Calleigh Duquesne and Eric Delko. It has been a great ten years and I will be a proud fan forever. This story is dedicated to all Eric & Calleigh fans who I feel has been robbed of a sweet and happy ending for our couple. I wish this is just a terrible nightmare that we can wake up but alas, it is a reality that we have to accept pretty soon. As usual, I need your reviews to fuel my inspiration to continue this story. I hope you will all like it.- Syl) **

An inviting aroma of "something good" cooking in the kitchen managed to reach Calleigh's bedroom. She just finished changing into her "home clothes" of a comfy shirt and yoga pants and was about to tie her hair into a pony when she heard the sound of the oven timer which was quickly followed by a soft knock on her bedroom door.

"Umm, Calleigh? I think the food is ready. You told me to tell you whenever I hear a bell."

Calleigh can't help but smile as she opened the door. "Oh, thanks buddy! I guess it's time for us to eat! Are you guys hungry already?"

"Well, Miss Ellen gave me and my sister a snack but yeah I am kinda hungry." Austin said as she followed Calleigh into the kitchen.

Calleigh attributes her culinary skills to her Southern upbringing. She sometimes wonders how she managed to prepare a hearty meal in such a short amount of time. Calleigh has always been a stickler for a healthy diet and she is not about to change it for the kids. The baked chicken, sweet potatoes and the steamed mixed vegetables officially became their first ever family dinner.

Patty North was still absorbed with watching a kiddie show in the living room.

"Hey sweetie! Come and join us here in the kitchen. I 'm guessing you are hungry too like your brother."

Patty was still holding on to her stuffed bunny as she made her way to the table.

"Um, Miss Calleigh, can I just have an ice cream?" Patty shyly asked Calleigh.

"Patty, I have baked chicken with potatoes for you. I tell you what- after you finish your dinner we will have some ice cream for dessert. Okay?"

"Okay." The kids took their places in the table and Calleigh each took their hands and prayed for grace before meals.

"Umm, Calleigh? Can I just add something?" Austin asked.

"Sure honey, go ahead."

Austin closed his eyes and bowed his head as he started to say his prayer aloud.

"I know you are there and I just want to thank you for listening to me. I have to admit that I had my doubts but I knew you will hear my prayers. Thank you for making Calleigh our new Mommy and for caring for us and keeping me and my sister together. Thank you. And amen. "

Calleigh can't help but get teary eyed upon hearing Austin's prayer and she tenderly squeezed his hand and smiled at her.

"So, um, Miss Calleigh? Can I call you Mommy now?" Patty asked softly.

Calleigh reached out to her and took her in her arms and gave her a hug.

"Of course sweetie. You can call me whatever you want."

Austin stood up and joined in the hug. "Thank you. I want to call you Mommy C. Is that okay?"

Calleigh laughed and said. "Oh Austin, I'd love that. Mommy C it is!"

As they were eating their dinner Calleigh took the opportunity to ask the kids about school and basic but important things like what their favorites are. She has so much to learn about these kids.

It's either the kids loved Calleigh's cooking or they were just plain hungry because in no time they were able to clean out their plates and Austin even asked for seconds.

"Well, I guess it's dessert time. So sweetie, which one do you want? Strawberry or chocolate?

"Umm, can I have 2 scoops of both please?"

"Of course! How about you Austin?"

"Yes! I 'd love some but I can only eat it a little. Too much of it hurts my throat." Austin said with a sigh.

"Aww, that's sad. I should keep that in mind. I don't want you getting sick." Calleigh said but she could not help feeling concerned about how much she does not know about these kids.

She keeps telling herself not to get too overwhelmed about this whole "motherhood" thing. God knows how many sleepless nights she spent thinking about how adopting the North kids will impact her life. Ever since the day Austin asked her if he and his sister can stay with her, Calleigh cannot get the kids out of her mind. She has been monitoring them for months and even managed to squeeze in a couple of visits on her full schedule. When she learned that the kids were able to find a suitable foster home with Brenda and Will, she was more than relieved. She thought that everything was going to be fine but then the tennis academy scandal happened. Calleigh knew then that she had to do something and the only way she can fully protect them is to be their permanent guardian.

She immediately filed her application for adoption, took the seminar, went through the medical examination and other requirements within a week. Nobody knew about it except Horatio. Well, it didn't take long for Eric to notice that something was going on with her. Eric…thinking of him offering to adopt the kids with her still touched Calleigh. God knows how she wanted to agree to his offer but these past two years has been just so rocky for them. No doubt their feelings for each other have never changed, she still loves him and she knows that he feels the same way too but they both knew that there are lot of things they need to work out. They have been making small steps towards that – they have been working together more often now, she started going out with the team after work and on two occasions they went out to watch a movie together. But what he did this afternoon, going out of his way to be her "character witness" made Calleigh think just how much she means to him. She knew that she is not quite on a stable ground with her relationship with him yet somehow she felt that the inevitable was coming- that they will be back together soon.

A small, sticky hand shaking her arm brought her back from her reverie.

"Umm, Mommy C? Can I have some more ice cream please? Patty asked.

"No Patty, you had enough." Austin said and to Calleigh." She will have a hard time sleeping if she had a lot of sweets."

"Oh, sweetie, I'll tell you what, on the weekend we will go to Ice Castle and we will have some more ice cream. Deal?"

Patty thought about it for a while and finally said. "Okay, deal!"

Austin and Patty helped her out to clean up so it didn't take long for them to settle on the couch and watch some shows on the Disney channel.

She heard her phone ring and smiled when she saw that it was Eric. She talked to her team and told them the good news about her adoption. They were all ecstatic for her and she was grateful on how they were telling her how they will be all supportive of her.

It was around nine when Calleigh felt that Patty had fallen asleep beside her. She could also see that Austin was struggling to keep awake.

"Hey, Austin, I think it's sleep time. I'll take Patty to her room first and I'll go to your room and tuck you in. Okay?"

"Okay." So she carried Patty and placed her in her bed and went to Austin's bedroom to say goodnight.

She went back to her bedroom to continue reading her book when she got a text message from Eric. Reading it brought a big smile to her face.

It read: Not sure if you are still awake but I was planning to drop by. It might be a little bit late.

Calleigh replied: No, it's fine. I really don't mind. Please come over. =)

After some minor fixing of her appearance, Calleigh went to make coffee and took out some ginger snaps. It did not take long when she heard the doorbell ring.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The room was filled with a celebratory din as patrons continue to order drinks and engage in animated conversation. It has been a practice for the team to go out for drinks after successfully solving a case but today's events hit closer to home. Even though Samantha was with the team for only a short period of time they still regard her as part of the family. There is no denying that it affected the team deeply but everyone was trying to make an effort to make things lighthearted. It was just inevitable that the focus of the conversation was on Ryan Wolfe's "unfortunate" love life. When Tom Loman showed off a photo of his young and attractive girlfriend the jokes escalated.

"You guys set this guy straight. I think he's gonna be alone forever." Walter quipped.

Eric cannot help but feel sorry for his friend so he countered.

"Oh, come on! Maybe for a while but not forever."

Come to think of it, every one of them is single except for Dr. Loman. Eric quickly went over the team's romantic situation in his mind. Walter has a left a high school sweetheart in New Orleans. Natalia has been casually dating but remained unattached. Frank's divorce was quite an ugly affair so Eric can't blame the guy if he chose not to get involved with the affairs of the heart for a long time. Of course, Horatio, obviously has not gotten over the death of his beloved Marisol. And then there's him ….and Calleigh – the love of his life. Well, it has been a long time that he has accepted the fact that he might be the one to be alone forever. He'd rather be alone if he can't be with Calleigh.

His thoughts immediately brought him back to something significant that happened these past few weeks.

He thought of the locker room conversation they had just over a week ago when Calleigh told him about her plans of adopting Austin and his sister. Over the past months he had noticed a change in Calleigh. She has mellowed down quite a bit so he was not shocked when she told him about her plans. He did not expect the words to come out of his mouth when he offered to help her adopt the kids. It was just that the picture of him and Calleigh with their kids has been playing in his mind for a long time that he can't help but jumped at the chance of it possibly coming true. He had to admit that it hurt a bit when Calleigh turned him down but he definitely understood where she was coming from. Calleigh just wants what is best for the kids and bringing him into the picture was not ideal. Of course at that moment he wanted to tell her that he was willing to do whatever it takes to make it work but he decided to just to let it be for now. Just this morning, seeing Calleigh's sad face and how worried she was about how the interview went , prompted Eric to make that trip to the adoption agency. He tried so hard in choosing the right words to say to the adoption supervisor without sounding like he was professing his love for Calleigh. All the words he said to them came from his heart and whether Calleigh will let him or not – he will be there for her and the kids. He was just so happy to learn that his declaration made a difference and swayed the decision to Calleigh's favor.

True, they are starting to be closer again and his feelings for her have not changed but it would take a while for them to work things out. He promised himself that he won't make the same mistake of rushing things with her again. If reconciliation is the direction they are going then he wants to take it slow - one step at a time**. **

"Hey Eric, where's Calleigh?" Natalia asked. "You heard anything from her? Hello! Earth calling Eric."

Natalia has to give him a nudge before he realized that she was asking her something.

"What?" Eric replied.

"We're wondering where Calleigh is. Did she say anything to you?" Ryan said.

Eric has been meaning to share the good news about Calleigh and the kids but he was just waiting for the team to ask him . Calleigh messaged him earlier and gave him the go signal to share the good news with them. He looked at Horatio and his boss gave him an affirmative nod.

"You tell them Eric." Horatio said while staring at his drink but he had a subtle smile on his face.

Eric smiled as well and said. "I'll tell you what- why won't you guys ask Calleigh herself." He dialled Calleigh's number and as soon as she answered he told her that the gang is asking her whereabouts and that he would put her on speakerphone.

"You have to speak a little louder though- it's kinda noisy in here." Eric told her.

"Hey guys! First off- I'm sorry that I can't make it there tonight. Something came up..."

Immediately the team bombarded her with questions.

"Are you okay Cal?" Natalia immediately asked.

Walter followed with "Wait, is your Dad in town?" And then Ryan asked, "What is it that is so important that you missed two drink nights in a row? What is it that Delko seems to know that we don't."

Everybody went silent when Horatio said. "Listen, give Calleigh a chance to say something. This is a very significant moment in her life. Calleigh, let me be the first err…well maybe second." H paused and looked at Eric with a knowing smile on his face "person to congratulate you."

The team chorused "Congratulations? What?"

They heard Calleigh saying "Okay, I want you to talk to my 2 new kids, Austin & Patty. Come on guys say hello to my friends."

They then heard two voices " Hello everyone" from Austin and a shy "Hi!" from Patty.

Immediately "Congratulations" erupted from the group and Natalia was endlessly gushing on how she was happy for Calleigh. Ryan, Frank and Walter volunteered to be babysitters.

"Thank you so much you guys." Calleigh said with rising, delighted inflection in her voice." You have no idea how happy I am right now. I know that I can count on all your support. It is really great to belong to this team .. my other family. So, I see you all on Monday and Ryan, take it easy."

Eric turned off the speaker and said "Talk to you soon Cal. Bye." As soon as he placed the phone in his pocket all eyes were on him.

Ryan then said." So Delko, how long have you known and what do you think about this?"

Eric took the time to answer Ryan's questions. "Not too long ago. And I think it's really great! I am so happy for Calleigh." And then he remembered the photo that Calleigh sent her. "Here, she sent this to me ."

"Hmm, you know what's lacking in this picture?" Ryan commented.

Then everybody simultaneously said, "Delko!"

Eric chuckled and said "Nice try Wolfe, you just want to turn the attention away from you."

Horatio immediately went to the rescue and succeeded on taking the group's attention to the events of the day- what will happen to Vogel and the deluge of charges coming his way, the subsequent reviews of all his cases including that of the Miami Taunter's. The night went by quickly and things started to wind down. Tom, Horatio and Frank were talking about national politics while Walter took Ryan for a walk outside. That was when Natalia pulled Eric away from the group.

She then asked him. "Seriously though Delko, you and Calleigh have been doing this back and forth dance for too long. When are you ever going to be back together for good. I mean, it's so obvious that you still care a lot for each other."

Eric smiled and sighed," If it were up to me, I would have married her a long time ago. You know Calleigh – it takes her awhile to trust people. I feel that we are making good progress these past months though. I mean we're back to being best friends again.I am happy that we are in this state of our relationship right now. Of cours, I want more but I promised myself that this time I want to do it right. I want her to fully trust me again. It might take a while but I will not give up. I will be there for her and for the kids."

Natalia smiled and said." I really hope you guys will find a way to work it out. You belong together. Speaking of which, I know you are anxious to be somewhere else so why won't you just go right now."

He could not deny that more than half the time his thoughts were with Calleigh and the two kids. He just wanted to give Ryan and the team some moral support since Calleigh could not be here,but right now all he wants to do was leave. He just did not realize that it was kinda obvious at least to Natalia.

"Thanks Talia. I really hope so too."

With that Eric said his "good byes" to his colleagues and left. As soon as he stepped out of the bar, he sent a text message to Calleigh and got a quick reply. The thought of seeing her and the kids made Eric's heart skip a beat.


	3. Chapter 3

(A/N: I am so sorry that it took a long time for the update. Summer was busy travelling and working. Now, back to school and back to writing. I promise to update regularly from now on.)

It did not take 5 seconds for the door to open which delighted Eric because it meant Calleigh was waiting for him and probably was eager to see him too.

"Hey!" Calleigh greeted Eric with an obvious excitement in her voice and facial expression.

"Hi" Eric followed Calleigh to the kitchen. "I'm sorry that I came late. It was hard to leave and not get a lot of heat from the guys."

"No, that's alright. I was hoping you'd drop by." Calleigh said with a playful smile as she poured hot water on the tea pot. Eric was watching her fill the cups & gave one to him.

"So where are the kids? Are they asleep already?"

"Yup, we were watching TV after dinner and Patty fell asleep on my lap and Austin was dozing off so I told him to go to his room. I tucked him in after I brought Patty to her bed. Oh Eric, they are such good kids inspite of everything. Austin is such a sweet kid and Patty is just so adorable. And oh, you know what they 've decided to call me? Mommy C. "

Eric was just so amused watching Calleigh talk about the kids…her kids. He could tell how happy she was and that made him feel good. It's so wonderful to see Calleigh that way. He was just hoping that he could be a part of the happiness that she is experiencing right now.

"You are really loving being a Mom ha? I am so happy for you Cal. I know in my heart that you will make a great Mom."

Calleigh gave him a warm smile and place her tiny hands into his. She missed the sight of their hands together – dark & light. For a while they just stayed that way staring at their hands and simultaneously they looked up and lovingly gazed at each other's eyes.

Finally Calleigh said," Thank you Eric. Now I am sure how much I mean to you."

"As I said before Cal, you are everything to me, your dreams, your happiness are mine too. I don't care how much I'll wait to earn back your trust. I am a very patient man when it comes to you."

"Eric, you remember what you asked me when I was treating your cut in the locker room…when you said that you would want to help me with the kids? Ummm, I have been thinking about that."

"And?" Eric was feeling his excitement growing on what Calleigh was about to tell him.

" You know what I said about us being unstable? Well, today I realized that that is not entirely true. Over the years, even back then when we were just best friends , you always had my back. I've trusted you with every fiber of my being . Even though we had a lot of challenges in our relationship – you know lying to me about helping your Father, keeping from me about wearing a wire and the whole SA investigation … I've realized you did it to protect me. I was just too stubborn to see it your way. I was just too scared to get hurt again and I know that it would hurt more with you."

Eric squeezed Calleigh's hand a little more and inched closer to her. He could not resist it anymore so he tenderly kissed Calleigh on her forehead.

Calleigh continued on, "Eric, I think we were dragging our feet – well, more my feet for far too long now. I want you back in my life, I want the way things were. I want to try this again with you. I want to take care of these kids with you."

Eric could not contain his happiness anymore upon hearing Calleigh's words. He lowered down his lips to meet Calleigh's. The kiss was tender and sweet but full of pent up emotions. When they broke apart they were breathless and smiling.

"I missed that." Calleigh coyly said.

"I missed that too Babe, but if you want to take your time, I'd understand."

Calleigh didn't answer him but instead she hugged Eric tighter. With her head rested on his chest, she closed her eyes, loving the feeling to be back in Eric's arms. They stayed like that for a while, just savoring the moment that finally they are officially back together again.

"Um, Babe? Do you mind if I'll just take at a peek at the kids sleeping before I leave?" Eric asked.

Calleigh gave him a warm smile, took his hands and lead the way to kids' rooms.

Austin was so adorably asleep with his very light snoring and Patty looked so cute hugging her ever inseparable Mr. Rabbit.

"They look happy Cal. I would love to take care of them with you. I know you will make a great Mom."

"And I know you will make a great Dad." Calleigh countered.

They quietly left Patty's room and while they were on the hallway, Calleigh stopped and faced Eric. She placed her arms around his neck and kissed him.

"Can you please stay tonight?" Calleigh asked him.

"Are you sure it's what you want Cal?

Eric just wanted to make sure. God knows how long he had imagi**ned** to be in Calleigh's bed again but he did not want to ruin anything by being rash about this.

"Eric, I don't want to waste time anymore. Two years is a long time and I know I have myself to blame for that. I miss you terribly Eric and yes I am sure of this as I'm standing here."

She tugged Eric's hand as they made their way to her room.

They slowly made love like they had all the time in the world, exploring the all too familiar curves and sensitive areas of each other's body . Breathless with hungry kisses, aroused with every touch,releasing moans of pleasure with every thrust- all those wasted time of being apart culminated in one explosive moment of unrestrained passion. Basking in the afterglow, they just lay in bed, Calleigh's head on Eric's chest –his hand combing thorugh her hair, her hand drawing circles on his abdomen.

"I miss hearing your heart beat." Calleigh softly said.

"And I miss touching your hair." Eric replied.

"Umm, so I wanna know exactly how you sweet talked the adoption supervisor to choose me?" Calleigh teasingly asked Eric.

"They don't need sweet talking Cal. They already know what an amazing human being you are and the kids are lucky to have you as their mother." Eric said.

"Well, I'm just curious when Ellen said how I have some quality people in my life. She gave me that meaningful smile when she said that and I know you said a lot more."

"Do you really wanna know what I told them?"

"Yes, Eric, I want to hear the exact words."

"Hmm, let me see- I told them that how blessed the kids will be to have you as their Mommy. That you are the most caring person I have ever known and that you will give your life to protect them. And that.."

"And that what?"

"And that…" Eric looked down and held Calleigh's face, looked straight in to her eyes as he continued. "you are not alone in this. That I will be right by your side and we will be raising the kid's together."

"Oh Eric. I know that Austin and Patty will love you. You are great with you."

"I am just so happy to be able to help you raise the kids Cal. As I said, whatever makes you happy makes me happy."

They were silent for awhile. Eric was slowly drifting off to sleep when he heard Calleigh.

Calleigh closed her eyes, took a deep breath and finally said, "I love you."

She could feel him stiffen a bit upon hearing those three words. He has waited so long for her to say it to him and now that she has finally said it he was dumbfounded.

"Babe, did you hear what I said?" Calleigh asked with concern as she lifted her head from Eric's chest to look at him.

Eric finally smiled at her and said. "I've imagined the day that you'd say that to me and now that I finally heard it - I am just speechless. I love you too babe but you know that already."

He pulled her head towards him and they kissed again and again.


End file.
